U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

WASHINGTON — Congressional efforts to shut down bailed-out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took a significant step forward with bipartisan agreement from key senators on a plan to overhaul the housing finance system.

The proposal released Tuesday would slowly shrink the companies and replace them with a scaled-back government guarantee for mortgages. Details are expected to be disclosed in the coming days.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together own or guarantee about 60% of existing mortgages, were seized by the federal government in 2008 as they neared bankruptcy from bad loans they guaranteed during the subprime housing boom.

WASHINGTON — Congressional efforts to shut down bailed-out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took a significant step forward with bipartisan agreement from key senators on a plan to overhaul the housing finance system.
The proposal released Tuesday would slowly...

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve's new leader, Janet L. Yellen, signaled that the central bank is likely to keep scaling back its signature stimulus program despite a recent string of weak economic data.
Making her first congressional appearance since...

WASHINGTON -- Senators on Monday are expected to confirm Janet L. Yellen as the next head of the Federal Reserve, scheduling a late afternoon vote that could be the closest ever for a leader of the central bank.
Yellen, 67, a former UC Berkeley...

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve has helped the nation rebound from the Great Recession, but there still is more work to be done to reduce unemployment and get the economy back on track, Fed chair nominee Janet L. Yellen will tell senators at her...

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve has helped the nation rebound from the Great Recession, but there still is more work to be done to reduce unemployment and get the economy back on track, Fed chair nominee Janet L. Yellen will tell senators at her...

WASHINGTON -- The White House warned Congress on Tuesday that slapping new sanctions on Iran could sink international negotiations to curb Tehran’s nuclear program and send America on a “march to war.”
In the latest ratcheting up of the...